The Walking Dead
by T. Jacobsen
Summary: Newly appointed UNSC Marine Staff Sergeant Jacob Scott had braved the jungles on earth, fought the Covenant, and survived the flood. Never in his life would he had believed to be prepared for the nightmare that waited for him on the Avenger 10-5.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer/Claimer: ****I don't own Halo or any or it's characters, even though I'd love too. Just mine.**

A/N: This is my first story in the Halo section and thought that since I myself like zombies why not bring that element and mix it into the story of this game. I've seen rarely any stories in this section do that and so I thought I might give it a shot. Note that if there is ANYTHING wrong with the rank system of my characters I would greatly appreciate it in a calm tone instead of deliberate bashing. Enjoy!

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**Prologue**

**- Aboard the Avenger 10-5.  
- 8:50 P.M. July 24th, 2557.**

Running through the halls of the Avenger 10-5, Doctor Johanna Wilcox desperately searched for solitude within the desolate cruiser as the sound of relentless hunger from her pursuers followed her everywhere she went. The handgun she held in her hand was down to it's last clip, and Johanna knew without a doubt that she'd turn the gun on herself before she would allow herself to be taken by the abominations that walked that halls of the cruiser.

She kept a firm grip on the gun and sighed in annoyance as she came to a stop in front of one of the locked doors. Pointing the gun behind her Johanna quickly began to type away on the small key-pad to hopefully get the door open.

Behind her a soft moan erupted as the slow, sluggish walking cadaver of a security guard came shambling around the corner after her. Johanna pointed the gun behind her and pulled the trigger, being rewarded with the small cry of pain as the husk tumbled to the ground. Slamming the access button to the keypad Johanna smiled when the door opened and she headed for the ladder that would take hers to the second floor. Upon reaching the top she ran down the small balcony and to where the door was at.

It was so strange to her, how quiet the ship was.

In just the two days since they'd taken on the S.O.S. call from a lone ship out in the middle of space everyone had been fine, that was until they'd discovered that there was a viral infection in one of the survivors bloodstreams and had turned them into some kind of walking, flesh eating monster.

When they'd first realized that there was in fact something dangerous aboard the ship they'd done their best to control it but it was to no Vail. None of them had guessed that the viral strain would spread so quickly in such a short time. Half of the staff were infected and almost the entire unit of grunts were killed within the first two hours. She figured that it had to be transmitted through fluids, because if it weren't then the only alternative was an airborne pathogen. However, that would also mean that she was infected—which she wasn't.

Johanna had no idea exactly who else was alive on the cruiser, but if she had to guess she would say that she was the only one left. The last two hours she'd heard gunfire from the hangar bay, but they hadn't repeated themselves. Either whoever it was was dead, or they'd holed themselves up somewhere and didn't want their presence to be known. Not that she blamed them, just the barest of sound attracted those things.

From behind several of the monsters were already gathering around the landing pad just below her. There was an elevator on that level, one she didn't use incase there'd been any on the second floor and was hoping that they didn't know how to use them. The last thing Johanna needed right now was for the damn things to grow an IQ.

"Come on," She muttered as she walked down the walkway and turned onto the next hall.

Halfway down the hall there was a small group of about five of them, Johanna knew that there was no alternative of getting to the command bridge and that them blocking her way seemed as if they were trying to purposely blockade her from calling for help.

"Like hell you will," She muttered as she walked down the hallway, her lab coat trailing behind her.

In just under a minute Johanna had run dry on ammo from shooting the zombies, but at least they were out of the way.

She stepped over the bodies and continued down the corridor, stopping to look both ways to see if it was clear before walking onto the next junction. Opening up the door to the command Bridge Johanna quickly made her way across the bridge and over to where the control panel was at. She stuffed the empty gun into her lab coat then began to try and see what she could do about getting in contact with someone.

Johanna sighed in disgust as she looked at the controls. They were awashed in the blood of the commanding officer of the ship, he'd been one of the first to die. She'd actually been there with him and four other soldiers when all of the chaos had started. He'd come back in less than two minutes, attacking the soldiers and slaughtering them all.

Once she had put in the password to access the communications box Johanna walked over to where it was at and grabbed the mic.

"This is Avenger 10-5. Mayday, we need assistance." She said into the mic. "All passengers aboard except myself have been killed, I need an evac. Please respond."

Johanna knew that there probably wasn't going to be a response. They'd been without contact from any vessel for twelve hours now and were probably considered dead. But that didn't mean that she was out of options as far as escaping.

There were at least four escape pods in the landing pad of the cruiser and was sure that there was at least one left. Johanna knew that she could make it, but if she were to get past those things in the corridors of the ship then she was going to need a new weapon since her handgun was out. Heading for the door Johanna figured that she would have to make a trip down to the armory. Which thankfully was just two doors down.

Stepping through the door she scanned the surrounding area and removed herself from the relatively cover of the room. She started down the walkway and to the left, heading to where the armory was at and pushed it open, stepping back as a freezing wind swept past her, sending a chill down her spine. Stepping through the door Johanna felt her bare skin cool as she entered the freezer-like hall.

To her left was the room she was looking for and Johanna pushed the door open to see that she'd walked into the armory.

A light buzzed softly above her and she shut the door behind her, after making sure the room was clear of any threats she began to look around for anything she could use. Hell, some extra ammo for her gun would be just fine.

As Johanna had thought, the armory had been ransacked and was completely empty of any weapons, but thankfully she did find some ammo for her gun. With the extra ammo she could probably make it if she was careful to avoid any large groups of them.

She searched for several minutes, trying to find anything that would be useful for in case she encountered anything she'd need some extra firepower for and almost thought that there was nothing here until she found it on the third search. A MA5C was placed against the small chest in the room. She picked it up and checked it. Fully loaded and equipped with a sling. Johanna also had found a few extra clips next to it.

Stuffing the clips into her coat pocket Johanna turned back to the door and then walked out.

Her initial plan was to head back to the command bridge and see if she could gain access to the ventilation shaft from there and use that to get past most of the zombies that were on the ship.

Reentering the command bridge she walked over to where the ventilation was at and pried open the gate. She was about to climb in when suddenly there was a soft sound from behind her. Gripping the MA5C tightly she slowly turned around and stared wide eyed as a small figure came out from behind the crates against the wall.

"Oh, my god!" She pointed the rifle at the figure and then began to fire at it.

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**Well, here is the prologue.**

**In writing this, I didn't want it to be too obvious that there was a zombie outbreak aboard the Avenger 10-5, but I also wanted to supply enough information that you knew it was happening but don't know anything beyond that. I also gave a little bit of background onto how the outbreak occurred and plan to expand upon that as the story goes on.**

**Also, in the next chapter I will introduce the main cast of characters who are going to be in the story. Sadly, there will be no canon characters in this story as I thought it would be unfair to the inital point of the story if there was an overpowered character who pretty much put everyone else in the story to shame.**

**If anyone has any pointers or ideas to expand upon in this story so far then don't hesitateto either leave it in a review or send me a PM.**


	2. Chp 1: Briefing

**Disclaimer/Claimer: ****I don't own Halo or any or it's characters, even though I'd love too. Just mine.**

A/N: Chapter one is here! Many thanks to those who reviewed the prologue, I think that even though this has hardly anything to do with the game series that it is going to be good. In this chapter we have the introduction of the main character, Jacob, and his squad who are currently aboard a freighter heading towards earth. Enjoy!

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**Chapter I: Briefing**

**- Aboard the Solaris.  
- 9:00 A.M. July 26th, 2557.**

Groaning softly as his eyes fluttered open, Jacob Scott looked around and then sat up, pushing back the cover of his sheets and stretching out his aching muscles. Climb out of his bed he rubbed the side of his head as he looked around. He was the only one from his squad up at the moment and when he looked down at his watch he noticed why. It was rather early for him, but he figured it was time to get up either way.

Jacob yawned softly as he walked over to where his locker was at and then opened up the metal door. He grabbed some fresh clothes out of the bottom and then changed out of his warn out uniform, putting it into a small waste basket then changing into his fresh fatigues.

The barracks were quiet, the only sound coming from him breathing as he sat down on his bed, reaching down and redoing the laces on his boots as he waited for the others to get up. Looking off to his right Jacob could see one of his friends stirring and so he decided that maybe he should head down to the mess hall so that he could eat some breakfast.

No doubt that Commander Slater was going to be sending him and his team out on a mission once they landed on earth. They were overdue for a galactic trip to one of the star systems and since his team was the only team on board the ship that didn't already have preset orders once they landed he was sure they'd get shipped out. He wasn't to thrilled about it though, Jacob was hoping to be able to at least see his family before being put back in the field.

Exiting their room Jacob walked down the corridor, passing by other soldiers and researchers as he made his way to the mess hall. His stomach rumbled softly in protest at how poorly he'd been keeping his nutrition for the past week. It wasn't his fault though, all he had time to do mostly was the training simulations. Commander Slater was a real dick sometimes.

When he reached the elevator Jacob pressed the call button and silently waited as the elevator descended down from the upper floors. Silently he waited as the humming of the elevator grew louder until a soft ping went off and the doors opened, along with those that were waiting with him he stepped inside. Pressing the button for the second floor he waited until the door opened up not even a minute later and he stepped out, and took a left.

Pushing through the doors of the entrance to the mess hall Jacob was greeted by the dull roar of the rest of the crew that were present in the room. Walking over to where the line began at he grabbed a tray and then walked through the line. Jacob was into having a good breakfast this morning so he grabbed two biscuits, a piece of sausage and a spoon of eggs. Grabbing a bottle of water he continued through the line and then headed over to sit down at a table.

Biting into his biscuit after stuffing it full of sausage and eggs he looked over to his right at the door and watched as two of his team mates walked through the door and over to where he was at. Walking over to where he was at they sat down at the table.

Jacob continued to eat as they sat down. Natalie Ortega, who was sitting at the other end of the table that she was also sitting at. She is a Corporal in his squad. Her luxurious, wavy, shoulder-length hair is the color of coffee with cream, and was worn in an elegant, severe style. She is very short and has an elegant build. Her skin is tanned. She has high cheekbones and small feet.

The other one, a guy, was just as tall as he was, had a full goatee and looked to be quite the bodybuilding. His name was Keith Roberts, just like Natalie he's a Corporal in his squad and although you'd think he was a very mean person he was quite the opposite. Keith was actually a really nice guy once you got to know him. He was just a smartass a lot of the time though.

"Hey guys," Jacob said as they began to eat.

"Aren't you a site for sore eyes," Keith commented sarcastically. "You don't usually get out of bed for another hour."

Jacob stared at his friend for a few moments, deciding on whether or not to say anything. However, before he could Natalie broke in.

"Get off his back, I'm sure there's some reason why." She flashed a smile in his direction.

"All I'm sayin," Keith said through a mouthful of food. "Is that J.B. here usually is up all night attending to the courses in the training center, the guy needs to get laid and soon."

"And let me guess," Natalie said in an annoyed tone. "_I'm_ that girl?"

Keith nodded.

Jacob shook his head in annoyance. He hated it when Keith called him J.B. For those who didn't know, his middle name was Bradley, and he hated being called by it but Keith was the only one who could get away with it. If you were to ask him it seemed like that was the only reason he teased him about it was well. Of course, he did know when to stop.

Both of them had known each other since they were kids, having grown up next to one another in the same house and even going to the same school together. It was strange to him as well because he had always thought that he would be the one who would never join the UNSC, but of course Keith had been able to convince him to join and before you knew it they were soaring through the ranks.

They'd both been involved in the wars against the Covenant and the Flood, both times ironically being in the same squad together. Jacob often thought that this reason was what had kept them alive through the years, watching each others back and not letting anything happen to them.

After the war they'd been assigned to several routes throughout space as guards aboard the ships, security in checkpoint stations, the list was endless. Now, after a long grueling six months they were heading home to earth to spend some time with their friends and families.

"Tell me first thing you're gonna do when we get back..." Keith said as he leaned against the side of the table.

"I just wanna see my family," Natalie said with a sign.

"I heard that," Jacob agreed.

And then there was Natalie. The sweet, compassionate brunette that had come into his life just two weeks ago after being transferred from Gamma-6. She was the medical officer for their team if they were to encounter any problems aboard the ship and often remarked that she felt like the little sister to the rest of the guys.

It was true though. Everyone in their squad treated her like a little sister and often called her Nat for short because she always seemed to be buzzing from place to place for some odd reason. Not that Jacob cared, but it was somewhat weird in it's own kind of way. Still though, Natalie was a good person and Jacob liked her.

He was looking forward mostly to being able to relax most of all. After several years of being in service and not getting a break, sometimes you just wanted to be able to relax and kick back, maybe have a margarita or two with your girlfriend if you had one.

From behind them footsteps could be heard echoing throughout the mess hall. They all turned and watched as a woman dressed in full military clothes walked in their direction, the last thing he was hoping for was that she was coming to talk to them. And of course, when she came to a stop right in front of him Jacob knew all to well that it meant that they were about to be assigned to some kind of duty.

"Sir, I need you, Roberts and Ortega to come with me." The female soldier said softly.

Jacob nodded and looked over at his friends, signaling for them to follow him.

When they left the mess hall, Jacob and the others followed the cadet down the hallway and over to where the elevator was at. The command bridge was just on the next level and Jacob had to wonder what could be so urgent that they'd need them this early in the morning. Slater was an ass, but he wasn't an idiot when it came to having a reason for his actions.

Stepping into the elevator they exited out onto the floor above and continued with following the woman.

"So," Keith said, trying to strike up some talk. "What's Slater got for us?"

"He wouldn't tell me," The Cadet said shyly. "Apparently it's top secret."

"Wow, must be something bad." Natalie remarked.

Once they reached the command bridge, Jacob looked around. There were several people going back and forth, he'd never seen the workers here so busy it was like something had just happened. This made Jacob wonder if something had happened on earth and they were being called here because of that. If something had happened to his family, he didn't know what he would do with him.

Off to their right, Commander Slater was talking with one of the doctors from the medical bay.

"I don't care," Slater spat. "Find out what you can about the information on the cruiser, all of my analysis are working on this and we need more help."

"Yes, sir." The doctor said and walked off.

Jacob could tell by the look in Slater's eyes that there was definitely something wrong. Maybe it was the fact he had been screaming at that doctor who clearly didn't belong at an information computer on looking for some kind of cruiser. What he was talking about though, Jacob had no idea and was starting to wonder if maybe there was something going on that he didn't want to know about.

Of course, all that changed the moment Slater acknowledged that him, Natalie and Keith were there.

"Ah, good you're here." Slater said, for some reason he actually looked happy to see them. "Scott, Roberts, Ortega, over here."

"Sir, why did you bring us up here?" Jacob asked as they joined him near the control panel.

"Just listen," Slater replied as he began to type on the panel.

Slater brought up a file on the hologram screen in front of them and began to input the password for access to the file so that they could listen to it. Already Jacob didn't like where this was going, it had an eerie feel to it.

"...Ave...-5...need...nc...myself...killed...respond."

"What was that?" Natalie asked.

"We believe that is an S.O.S. message from the Avenger 10-5," Commander Slater informed them. "The thing is, no ones heard from them in three days. They were rescuing survivors from a cruiser that had a mechanical failure, but something happened."

"And let me guess, you're sending us in to find out?" Keith said sarcastically.

"Our job is to help them if they're stranded," Slater replied darkly. "Your job as well."

From behind them the door opened and Jacob saw that the rest of his team was coming over to where they were at. Six soldiers who he knew pretty well and knew that they could watch theirs, as well as his back when the time came for it. They all looked quite tired, obviously they'd just been woken up while Jacob, and the others were at breakfast.

"Good, now that the rest of your team is here." Slater continued. "I want your team to assemble and head to the ship, we're not that far from it and should be a five minute ride. See if you can find any of it's crew and get brought up to speed on their situation."

"Yes, sir!" They all said at once and snapped a salute.

Turning, they all left and headed out of the command bridge and to where the elevator was at. Once inside they all traveled down to the first floor and took a right, heading to where the barracks were at and to the armory to gear up for their missions.

Stepping through the doors of the armory Jacob and his team made their way over and went to each of their respective lockers. Jacob sat down on the bench in front of his and opened the metal door, grabbing his army fatigues and then began to strip out of his clothes. Jacob was standing next to Natalie, who was getting looks from Ronnie Pierce and Leo Clarke. They both wanted to hook up with her.

After he was changed into his uniform Jacob walked over to where the weapons were kept and he put in the code to open the glass case. Inside was the standard MA5C rifle, it was the standard weapon for the UNSC Marines and his had a few modifications to it. It was lighter than the average one, held an additional ten bullets per clip and had a more balanced sight. Quite the toy that he loved to fight with, all the others had one also, but with their own modifications.

There was a second locker below it. He opened it and in it appeared a custom handgun that they used in a holster with six spare magazines and a utility belt with pouches to keep them in. Jacob pulled on his armor and hooked on the belt. He put the magazines in their separate pouches and picked up the gun. He looked at it for a moment. It was well polished and nicely developed. Then, he put it in the holster and strapped it on.

"Is everyone ready?" Jacob asked as he walked over to the others.

After receiving nods from everyone, Jacob handed out their guns and then headed for the door.

They had a long hour ahead of them if it meant that they were going to have to search the cruiser for any signs of survivors. Hell, there wasn't even a guarantee that they _would_ find anyone alive. But that was no reason for him to give up hope that there were.

"Let's move out!"

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**Here's the much anticipated next chapter of Walking Dead.**

**In this chapter we saw the introduction of the three main characters: Jacob, Keith and Natalie. I do plan to expand more on them as well as expand on the other members of their squad who will be getting named in the next chapter (excluding Ronnie and Leo) but for now they remain a mystery.**

**I'd like to take this time to thank my friend Keith for allowing me to use his name in the story as well as helping me in developing the characters of his and Natalie. Without your help I'd still be thinking up their personalities.**

**~Later.**


	3. Chp 2: Arrival

**Disclaimer/Claimer: I don't ****own Halo or any or it's characters, even though I'd love too. Just mine.**

A/N: Let me introduce you to chapter two! Now that the boring parts of them heading to the ship is out of the way, the action can begin. I'm so thankful for those that have reviewed and would like to extend my deepest thanks to you for your support in writing this. Now, onto the action. Enjoy!

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**Chapter II: Arrival**

Sitting down in the Co-pilot seat of the small space ship as it pulled out of the docks from the Solaris, Jacob rubbed the side of his neck. He really should've got some more sleep, there was no telling how long this mission was going to take and the last thing he needed was to fall asleep while he was looking for survivors.

Glancing around at the others who seemed to be doing their own sort of self preparation before they arrived at the Avenger 10-5 he couldn't help but think that here was something weird about the place they were going to. Jacob couldn't place his finger on it, but there was this undying feeling he had that there was something more to that message that they'd received. Like something they should've heard was cut out.

For right now though he wanted to focus on what exactly was taking place on the cruiser before the events that had taken place unfolded. Jacob knew that the cruiser was being used as a medical center for some kind of new disease that they'd found in a few UNSC soldiers a year ago, but other than that there wasn't much information about it that he was allowed to know.

"So, what exactly is up with this place?" Private Wilde asked as he checked his magazine for the millionth time.

"It's a medical center," Natalie informed them.

"That was made clear when we were leaving," Keith sarcastically replied. "I'm sure something's up in that place though."

Jacob had to agree.

Although they were prepared for anything that came their way, with their MA5C's and other gear there wasn't anything they couldn't handle. If indeed there was anything wrong aboard the ship then hopefully they'd see some signs of it in enough time to get back to the ship and leave. If not, then it looked like they were going to be in for a long ride.

"Yea, but it also just makes you think they were up to no good," Private Carter Hall said as he calmly reworked the scope on his rifle.

Jacob looked over at the others one last time, aside from Keith and Natalie he really didn't know any of the others. They were all top notch on their statistics, no doubt they'd do good while on board with them. If not, well there was always a transfer in their future. In his experience men came and went from his squad, either by death or by leaving, it really didn't matter which way.

"Sir," The Pilot said, alerting him. "We're here."

Turning his attention back to the front of the ship Jacob saw a rather large cruiser not to far from where they were at. Jacob thought that it looked rather large to be a medical ship, he'd never seen one so big before. He knew it was probably just a coincidence, but either way he didn't get paid to ask questions. Just to do as he was told by his superior officers.

Looking over at the Pilot he signaled for him to bring them in closer to find a spot to land at.

They circled around the vessel twice before they finally found a loading bay door that was open. He sighed, gripping his rifle tightly as the ship sat down in the hangar.

"Okay," Jacob said as he stood up and turned to the others. "Let's get this over with and go home. Be ready to evacuate in case of an emergency."

Everyone nodded and then started to the back of the ship.

Stepping off of the ship Jacob aimed his rifle in front of him as he took lead of the group. Looking around the bay he saw that it looked like a struggle had taken place not to long ago, crates and barrels were tossed aside like someone had been chased through the room, it reeked of danger. Jacob still had that feeling though, he just knew that something was going to happen.

There was seriously something wrong with the hangar though, Jacob didn't know what it was but he felt like they were being watched by some unseen force as the nine of them made their way over to the door that would take them deeper into the cruiser. God knows what they'd find once they split up into teams, it made him almost fear having to do so.

Once they reached the door he gripped his rifle tightly and walked through the door once it was open. Glancing the hallway from left to right he swept the area for any threats and signaled for the others to follow him into the hall. Starting down the hall the others followed, their footsteps echoing off of the wall making it sound like an entire army was walking down the hallway.

"We need to split up into two teams," Jacob told the others as they reached the end of the hall. He looked at them and sighed, knowing what had to be done. "Stokes, I want you to take Natalie, Elliot, Clarke and Wilde with you. Head down to the barracks, see what you can find and report in. I'll take Keith, Pierce, McGee and Hall with me."

"Sir!" The five of them said and then began to jog down the connecting corridor.

"Alright, let's get moving."

Jacob, Keith and the others made their way down the hall and coming to a door that had some type of symbol on it. If he had to guess, Jacob would think that it was a biohazard symbol.

Glancing down at his map and searching for their location he raised a brow once he saw that the door was suppose to lead to some kind of infirmary that would connect to another hall that would take them to an elevator. The elevator would then take them up to where the command bridge was at to see if they could get the communications system working to alert anyone on the ship of their presence.

Pushing the door open he stepped in, gun at the ready and stared in shock at what he saw. The entire room was a derelict, the beds were turned over and the sheets stained with what he believed was blood, but he surely didn't want to believe it. A machine off to their left was sparking, a mechanical failure no doubt in part to the fact it was knocked over.

Just looking around the room confirmed his suspicions of illicit activities going on, no doubt ones that had gotten out of hand. He figured though the sooner they got out, the better.

Starting forward Jacob made sure to keep his guard up, the shadows that danced across the wall from the sparks gave him the creeps. His mind filling his thoughts with images of a monster watching them from the darkness. He knew it was childish, but sue him for being scared out of his mind.

Looking over at the others he signaled for them to take up the rear and they continued to the door.

Placing his hand on the door he opened it slowly and quickly scanned the corridor. Jacob found it strange how they still hadn't come across anyone, like they were deliberately hiding from them. Had someone hijacked the ship? It seemed quite unlikely.

In the case that someone had Jacob was sure that they'd know by now. If not being gunned down then they would've seen someone on the ship, or at least some kind of sign that there was life on the ship.

"Where the hell is everyone?" PFC McGee asked as he closed the door to the infirmary.

Jacob shrugged. "Hell if I know, but something isn't right."

"Oh, and you couldn't have noticed that until just now?" Keith replied sarcastically.

Jacob glared at him for a brief minute before turning to the left and walking forward. At the turnoff he looked around the corner, seeing that the door to the left on the connecting hallway was ajar, he signaled for McGee to follow him and then they headed towards the door. There were claw marks on the door—which seemed out of place—it made him wonder if there was someone inside the room.

Approaching the door he got on one side while McGee got on the other and signaled for Keith to kick the door in.

Moving into the room they looked around to see that they were standing in a storage room, he'd nearly walked right into a stack of brooms. He quickly grabbed them to keep from letting them hit the ground as Keith began to chuckle and shake his head.

"What?"

"Always the cluts," Keith joked as he walked out the door.

Rolling his eyes at Keith's comment they exited the room and Jacob shut the door. He felt real stupid at how him and McGee had just stormed the room not knowing what was in there. In real combat he'd be dead right now, hell his entire squad probably would be dead right now.

Shaking his head he turned to the right and just started down the hall. With having just been promoted to Staff Sergeant not even a week ago he was still getting use to being in charge, and not having to rely on someone else to lead the group. Up ahead he could hear the soft dripping of water coming from a pipe, maybe, or something dropping down from the ceiling. Either way they were about to find out.

At the end of the hall there was a door knocked off of the hinges and laying on the floor, the scorch marks around the blackened door made it evident that an explosion had occurred. If that didn't cinch it then the fact that there was a gas canister in the room that's top was peeled back did.

"I wonder what could've done this," Private Hall asked as he crouched to examine the door.

Jacob crouched as well.

"Who would need to do this, I have no idea." He commented. "Let's keep our guard up, the ship could've been hijacked and we don't need to be getting ourselves shot."

Standing up he continued down the hall and then swept his gun to the right as he followed the stretching corridor until they came to the end of the hall where the elevator was at. This is what they'd been looking for since splitting up with Sergeant Stokes and his team, now all they had to do was get to the command bridge.

Turning to the others Jacob opened up the door to the elevator and then the five of them climbed in. The space was a tight fit, no doubt cramp with them having their gear and that they were bulky men, but it wasn't enough to cause any problems. Once the door opened up a minute later Jacob and Keith were the first to step out and swept the area with their rifles, checking both ways before deciding on the area being secure.

Walking down the hallway he came to a stop in front of a door that read "Command Bridge".

Jacob pressed the button to open the door and stepped inside. Looking around the room he could see that like everywhere else on the ship things were completely destroyed. The control panel was torn to shreds, thick chunks of metal torn from it in three lines, wires hanging out and buzzing with electrical current.

Aside from the torn open control panel there wasn't really much to see in the room. Chairs were knocked over, someone broken and there was blood everywhere. Good god. It looked like someone had taken a bucket of blood and just splashed the entire back wall with it. Raising a brow Jacob shouldered his rifle and calmly walked over to the other side of the room, his steps echoing in the small chamber. He came to a stop and followed a trail of blood that was different from the others. It turned to the left and led right to—

-a woman that was propped up against the wall. She held a handgun in her shaking hands, her stomach was awash with blood that had deeply stained her lab coat and her eyes were glassy, she was dying.

"W-Who are you?" She asked weakly, lowering the gun, exhaustion passing over her delicate features.

Jacob was crouched down next to her in less than a second.

"My name is UNSC Staff Sergeant Jacob Scott, I'm with a team of Marines here." He calmly told her, taking in how badly wounded she was. "What's your name?"

"My name, is J-Johanna Wilcox. I'm..I _was_ a doctor on this ship."

Sighing, Jacob looked around for something to use to help stop the bleeding. "What happened here?"

"About three days ago," She whispered softly. "We responded to a distress call from another ship, it was having mechanical failures and only two of its inhabitants survived. However, not long after that...something happened."

"McGee, get in here!" Jacob called as Johanna began to cough roughly, blood seeping from the corners of her lips.

"I tried to warn them not to bring them aboard," Johanna whispered softly. Jacob could tell she was about to pass. "I-I..."

Before she could finish her sentence though Johanna had stopped, her head dropping to the right and Jacob could tell that she wasn't breathing anymore. She didn't have a pulse either, that was enough for him to confirm it without McGee having to.

"Damn," He whispered softly.

So something had been released on the ship? He'd never heard of anything able to kill an entire crew of workers and a strike team on its own, it was practically impossible. Then another thought occurred to him. Stokes and the others needed to be warned.

A long night was ahead of them.

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**Well now that everything as far as establishing them into the plot is FINALLY over I can gladly say that I'm ready to unfold my grand plan for the future of this story. If by that you were expecting me to tell you what it is, then keep dreaming. You can find out by waiting for the release of the next chapter. I pretty much already know how I want the story to playout to an extent and I'm sure that everyone else who is being faithful to the story would like how it will eventually turn out.**

**Lastly, I'd like to end this by saying thanks for reading! It's you the readers continued support that helps me creatively write this; and I adore you for that.**

**Also, Merry Christmas!**


	4. Chp 3: First Encounter

**Disclaimer/Claimer: I ****don't own Halo or any or it's characters, even though I'd love too. Just mine.**

A/N: Finally we can get to the action. I know a lot of you have been eagerly awaiting when Jacob and the other's would encounter the zombies aboard the Avenger. Also, I'd like to apologize for the shortness of the previous chapter, it was meant to be them arriving and finding out what happened, and so without further wait, here is chapter three. Enjoy!

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**Chapter III: First Encounter**

Starting out the door, Jacob ordered McGee, Pierce and Keith to stay in the room while him and Hall went to find the others. Keith had protested at first, but once they'd finally settled on it he seemed satisfied to know his friend was being well looked after by a top notch marksman. Outside the door they followed the hall to the left, Jacob had told them to go check out the Barracks, so that was where the two of them were heading to first.

When they reached the end of the hall, the two of them edged around the corner with their rifle's out in front. Whatever had happened to Doctor Wilcox, there was no way in hell they were going to let it happen to the two of them. Nor any of the others if they could help it.

Up ahead Jacob could hear something, like the soft sound of water dripping from a pipe. The only problem was that this hallway had no pipes on the wall or ceiling, so it had to be something else. Signaling for Hall to take rear he started forward, turning on the light to his rifle so that he could see further ahead incase they ran into anything.

Walking down the dark hallway, Jacob staffed with the hall. He didn't want to get a surprise from anything if he could help it, something wasn't right about this place and his men could die if he wasn't on edge.

"Sir, I think I see something." Hall said as they came to a stop.

"What is it?" Jacob asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Jacob thought he could hear someone moaning up ahead, like maybe someone was in trouble. Looking over at Hall the two of them started forward. They were heading down the hall when the door to their right suddenly slammed shut, as if someone was on the other side of it. Immediately the two soldiers ran up to the door each taking a side. Jacob looked over at Hall and then the two of them stormed into the room. He looked around, using the light from his gun to illuminate the room.

Whatever was in the room they couldn't see it though, maybe it had just been the wind. The air ducts in the room were open and it could've just been the air that had caused the noise. But then there was still the moaning they'd heard. Something about that just wasn't right.

"Stokes, come in." Jacob said into his radio. "Do you read? Over."

_**"Yes, this is Stokes."**_ The radio crackled. _**"What's up? Over."**_

"Something's not right about this place, we found someone who told us they were attacked by..."

_**"Hold on, we found someone."**_ Stokes said in his radio. **_"Hey, are you—oh shit! Fire! Fire!"_**

Gunfire could be heard from somewhere in the distance, followed by the loud screaming of men who were surely being attacked. Looking over at Hall, the two of them took off down the hallway to get to where the team was at. When they reached the turn in the hall they soon came to a stop, their path blocked by the most disgusting thing Jacob had ever seen before.

Standing in front of them was the crew of the ship, or at least what was left of them anyways. He didn't get it though, they looked as if they were rotting off of their bones but yet they were walking towards them. Stained lab coats, torn limbs. It was like someone had taken a gun to them and torn them apart. Black blood was crusted all over them, their eyes by far were the most obscured feature of all. They were glowing red, like a devil was possessing them or something.

Taking a step back, Jacob knew that he didn't want to even get close to them. There was just something about the way they were staring at him and Hall, that just screamed at him, telling him to turn around and run.

"Hey, are you guys—" Hall began as he stepped forward.

"Don't!" Jacob yelled, but he was too late.

One lunged forward at Hall and grabbed onto him, tearing into his neck as blood sprayed all around. It was like a beacon to those damn things as they all started running at him and knocked the poor soldier to the ground as they made a meal out of him. Turning around Jacob shouldered his rifle and began to run for his life, the screams coming from Hall enough to pump his legs to go faster.

When he reached the corner he stumbled over an overturned chair, nearly loosing his balance and crashing to the floor. He could hear gunfire coming from behind him, it was Hall no doubt, but as quickly as it had come, it was gone. He reached the end of the hall and turned around, bringing the rifle in front of him and waiting silently for the things to come. His hear was beating heavily in his ears, the moaning faintly heard over it.

Taking aim as they began to walk around the corner, Jacob began to fire. The bullets ripped into the people, like they felt no pain and from the way they were still coming at him, they were oblivious to the latter. He decided to back up, taking five steps backwards and firing for five seconds. Jacob repeated this tactic down the hallway, picking them off one at a time, taking out their legs.

Grabbing for his handgun he turned and fired into the crowd as he ran, the crackle of his radio filled with howling and distress calls from the team that he'd sent with Stokes. There was no time to answer it though, the thing's were right behind him. He had to get to where Keith, McGee and Pierce were or else he was really going to be one fucked man.

Looking around he grabbed some electrical wire that was hanging down from the ceiling and looked to his right, over at where the dripping had been coming from earlier. He stretched out the wires and threw them down onto the wet spot, sparks flying and an electrical current flowing through the water. When they walked over it, Jacob smirked as they lit up like wood, the current flowing through them and pulverizing, and blackening what skin they still had left.

Stumbling blindly through the hallway Jacob finally reached the room where the three soldiers were at and slammed into the door, crashing through and landing on the floor heaving.

"What the hell happened to you?" Keith said as the three soldiers ran over to where he was at.

McGee was knelt next to him in under a second and already checking for any wounds. "There seems to be nothing wrong with him."

"H-Hall," Jacob choked out.

"Where is he?" Pierce asked.

The three men looked at their leader for some kind of answer, but all they got was nothing but shock written all over his face. McGee though, looked to be the most concerned one. With his background being in the medical practice, he knew Jacob looked a little out of it.

But that wasn't the case with him. No, Jacob wasn't screwed up in the head just yet. When he told them what happened to Hall though, they surely were going to think that he was. Not that he'd blame them. Hell, if not for seeing it with his own eyes he himself would think that he was fucked up in the head.

"T-They _ate_ him," He muttered, the words pooling out like a bad taste in his mouth.

"Ate?" Keith said in confusion.

Both Pierce and Keith started laughing, thinking that Jacob was probably trying to play a prank on them. Of course, that was until they heard the screaming from next to them. Doctor Wilcox was suddenly up off the floor and was biting into McGee's arm like it was a cabob. Keith grabbed her by her shoulders and threw her to the ground.

"Don't move!" He screamed, pointing his rifle at her.

The doctor, who was slowly getting to her feet let out a vicious roar that was deafening in the small room and she launched herself at Keith and Pierce who began to pump her full of lead. She took off running at them and was thrown back to the ground by the gunfire, gurgling sounds could be heard rising up from her throat.

Both soldiers quickly pulled out some wires from the room and cuffed her hands and legs before throwing her outside. Slamming the door shut and pushing several crates in front of it they walked over to McGee who was tending to his injured arm. It was bleeding profusely, like it might not stop bleeding unless they got him some serious medical attention. A wound like this, he'd bleed out in five hours if unattended.

"You, okay?" Pierce asked, changing out the spent magazine on his rifle.

"Yea," McGee said as he began to bandage it with the medical equipment he had. "Just need to stop the bleeding."

Jacob slowly got to his feet and looked down at his handgun that was in his holster. The tip was still quite hot from shooting at those damn things, but seeing Wilcox like he had just seen her, there was no denying what they were up against. Although it went against everything that he believed in, there was just no other alternative. The decaying skin, moaning, eating human flesh, they were fucking zombies.

He glanced over at the others who seemed to be preoccupied with making sure that McGee was okay. Jacob could see that he was tending to a wound on his arm. He began to wonder if any of the others that were with Stokes were okay, or maybe had turned out like Hall.

"What the fuck just happened?" McGee asked, glancing over at Jacob.

Jacob shook his head and stood up, "Hell if I know."

He walked over to the door to make sure that it was shut and then jumped back, falling over the dead body of Wilcox as he heard people began to beat on the door. Jacob instinctively reached for his handgun as Pierce and Keith joined him.

"Great, so we're blocked off now!" Pierce shouted as he kicked the wall, bending a pipe.

"So what do you suggest we do?" Keith asked as he leaned against the wall.

Looking around the room, Jacob tried to think of a place where they could get out of the room at. He knew that the room had no other doors, but that also didn't stop him from wondering if maybe there was the possibility of an alternative exit. Jacob glanced around, his gaze resting on the vent on the other side of the room where they had found Doctor Wilcox at.

A smirk came to his face as he walked over to where it was at and glanced inside. It looked big enough for each of them to fit through, maybe tight for Keith considering how big he was but it wouldn't be anything worth complaining about.

"Guy's, I found our exit."

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**Please forgive me for this chapter being so short, but I felt like their first encounter should be short and to the point of what is going on on the cruiser. Also, for those who wish to know, not everyone but them four are dead. Some of the others will have made it and will be appearing shortly in the future.**

**Also, I want to take this time to say this story will now be entering a hiatus status. I plan to make a story based on a novelization of the game: Dead Rising 2. It to is about zombies and those who have enjoyed my stories so far, be sure to check that story out when it comes out.**

**Hope you've enjoyed!**


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